DOVER — Dr. Courtney Voshell, assistant principal at Dover High School, will become principal in July, the Capital School District board of education voted Monday.

In 2014, the National Association of Secondary School Principals named Dr. Voshell the National Assistant Principal of the Year.

Dr. Voshell has spent most of her life in the Capital School District. She grew up in Delaware, graduated from Dover High School, and started teaching math at her alma mater in 2003.

Dr. Courtney Voshell has spent most of her life in the Capital School District. She grew up in Delaware, graduated from Dover High School, and started teaching at her alma mater in 2003. (Delaware State News photo by Dave Chambers)

“I’m home grown. This is home for me. I started my teaching career in 2003 and I haven’t looked back,” she said.

“I’m very excited to take the lead. I work with fabulous people here.”

After a two-year stint in Georgia, Dr. Voshell returned to Dover High School in 2007. In 2010, she moved out of the classroom to become assistant principal.

After two and a half hours of interviews Monday night, the school board convened into public session and voted unanimously to appoint her to the position.

“She just has a great vision for what she wants to see happen and change over at the high school and ... I think she’ll be a very positive influence over the students and the staff,” said board president Kay Dietz-Sass.

“I’m just excited about her new endeavor with the district. I think she’ll do a great job.”

Dr. Voshell said that in the past few years the high school has improved in multiple ways — not just in its test scores and data, but its community, culture, programs and offerings.

One of her goals for the school, she said, is to start to “talk the talk of college and career ready.”

“I want to create a culture where every faculty member has that expectation of kids being college-ready after they graduate,” she said.

She said she’d heard of schools where freshmen take a picture in their cap and gowns when they start school. Something like that “makes a powerful statement,” she said.

“This is our goal for you and this is day one.”

In the future, she said she’d like to focus on “big picture, important tests” like the SAT, so that students are ready for a career or college.

Soon after Dr. Voshell became assistant principal in 2011, the state Department of Education added Dover High School to the Partnership Zone program, an initiative for low-scoring schools created through the federal Race to the Top grant.

Since then, education officials announced the school exited the program in 2014.

Dr. Voshell lives in Dover with her husband and two children.

The board voted down a contract renewal for Dr. Evelyn Edney, the current principal, in November.

After her contract is up June 30, Dr. Edney is set to start work as director at Early College High School, Delaware State University officials announced in May.

The Capital school board is also poised to vote on a new superintendent at their meeting Wednesday.